‘INTRODUCING LINN HOLMES’: THE SWEDISH SINGER-SONGWRITER WHOSE SOUL IS IN LA…AND HER DEBUT EP

EP REVIEW | LINN HOLMES’ – INTRODUCING LINN HOLMES by Martha Munro 3.5/5

Since before she could walk, music has been the life and love of blues-rock singer-songwriter Linn Holmes’. Ignited by her gospel-choir-member mother and a rock-n-roll-raging father, Holmes’ lifelong passion for music was truly set aflame when she began singing, writing and performing with bands scattered across Stockholm, lighting the fire that would fuel her career across the Atlantic to the height of the Los Angeles rock scene.

After working primarily as a session singer, as well as a member of various established acts such as the 12-person vintage rock group Harry Katz and the Pistachios and Canadian-led rock band Elderoth; Linn Holmes decided to go it alone in 2024 and kick start her solo career. Her debut, four-track EP, Introducing Linn Holmes, released 12th July and is a heartfelt, cinematic culmination of the artist’s every achievement, collaboration and inspiration, rife with themes of love and strength – but it has its weaknesses.

The EP’s soulful, piano-founded opening track Baby Blue was released at the end of May – and you can certainly see why it was chosen to be a single. With its bluesy bass, rippling drums and chorus of addictive lilting rhythms, this song is a catchy, comprehensive display of Holmes’ retro, rocking style. The pockets of electric guitar teased throughout offer edgy glimpses into the artist’s rock roots, epitomised in the amped-up guitar solo featured after the second chorus. But the most distinctive aspect of the music of Linn Holmes, and this dynamic opener, is, without a doubt, her voice; her 60s and 70s inspirations, including icons like Aretha Franklin and Bonnie Raitt, can’t be missed in the strength and range of her vocals, with a slightly gritty edge that complements the rolling smoothness of the track’s other elements. However, the mixing sadly lets her down somewhat in this number, and indeed the whole body of work, due to her voice being consistently placed so high in the mix. It is not that her vibrant vocals should not be spotlighted, but that they could instead be blended more harmoniously with the rest of the track’s dynamic yet often drowned-out instrumentals. Additionally, putting the voice too forcefully at the forefront of a song often exposes the singer and their fumbles. This undoubtedly applies here as Holmes falls flat and just misses the head of the note’s nail a number of times throughout the song, which, due to the mixing, can’t be missed, bringing down the quality of a track that has clear, craved but not quite carved-out potential.

Second track Cut Me is another pre-EP piano single and was Linn Holmes’ debut solo release. It provides a darker depth following the upbeat nature of Baby Blue and while it harbours a slightly repetitive quality as it goes on, this number’s more sultry and syrupy sound sets it apart from the other songs on the EP. While the aforementioned issue of mixing still rears its head slightly in this track, Holmes’ vocals demonstrate only strength and a highly impressive range, with much more well-placed and controlled contrasts in volume. With lyrics that propose a challenge, a threat, a three-and-a-half minute declaration of strength and independence, the sheer, gritty passion powering this song gives it a deeper Fiona Apple-esque quality and a classic blues-rock feel.

Following Cut Me is the heartbreak lullaby-ballad Drifting, a delicate, finger-picked guitar track that strips the EP right down to just the singer and the strings. The vocals immediately and artfully contrast those of the previous two tunes, taking on a muted, singing-through-the-phone quality as well as using echo to truly encompass the artist’s clear sense of deep yearning. This was without a doubt achieved through the songwriting partnership of Linn Holmes and her producer Tom Chandler. As a key collaborator, Chandler brings Holmes’ distinct sound to new, diverse heights, showcased in this contrastingly mellow number. As a result, despite being comprised of such a simple composition, this track is an enchanting listen that is equal parts sweetness and sorrow, love and loss.

Closing the EP is the breezy, romantic friends-to-lovers track Checkmate. As the first verse is introduced, every element is immediately established as harmonious and cohesive, with the percussion just melting into the slowly skipping drums to form a strong rhythmic backbone that supports the song’s chorded body of piano; a complete, crisp, calming sound. But the harmony found here in the song’s beginning doesn’t quite make it to the chorus. As Holmes’ voice ventures higher – in pitch as well as compositional placement – a flat, almost screechy quality enters, causing the track to lose its dreamy cohesion that held so much promise leading up to the chorus. Once again, we see the second verse regaining the previous momentum just for it to be lost in the repeating chorus, sadly bringing the work’s quality down a notch to finish the EP.

But, despite the lows that weave their way into Introducing Linn Holmes, the highs are, in contrast, nothing but illuminating promises of a true, tailored talent. A debut work is almost always an impossible one to make truly perfect and with such an expansive career, drawing from a fantastic array of genres, inspirations and themes, Linn Holmes surely has the drive and depth in her experience to continue creating solo music with more refinement, maintaining that musical variety and soulful joy that makes her who she is.